


Sonic the Hedgehog Returns

by F1Krazy



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog: The Animated Series
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, Reboot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8163041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1Krazy/pseuds/F1Krazy
Summary: A reboot/reinterpretation of the Sonic SatAM continuity, incorporating ideas from both the games and the Archie comics, as well as a few original concepts.Mobius, the year 32XX. The tyrannical Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his nephew Snively have taken over the planet with their army of machines, converting almost the entire population into their robotic slaves. There remains a faint glimmer of hope: Princess Sally Acorn, daughter of the deposed Mobian king, leads a small resistance group fighting to overthrow Robotnik and restore the House of Acorn to the throne. With the odds stacked against them, their hopes rest on the shoulders of a speedy, snarky hedgehog named Sonic.





	1. The Death Egg (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> As stated in the description, this is a reboot/reinterpretation of SatAM. Apparently the term here on AO3 is "Fix-It". Several characters have been re-imagined and will differ slightly from their original incarnations. This series will also incorporate characters and elements that weren't present in the original, including Amy Rose, Metal Sonic, and the Chaos Emeralds. The plot is completely original but incorporates a number of storylines from the games.
> 
> Also, this first episode took me bloody long enough by itself. Don't expect another one for a while :P

The rain was driving down hard in Scrap Brain Zone that afternoon, as Sally Acorn sheltered beneath a giant rusting statue, her fur almost completely soaked. Clutched tightly in her left fist was a small USB flash drive, containing the thing that had brought her and half the Freedom Fighters out this far: plans for Dr. Robotnik's latest weapon, stolen from a supposedly top-secret research laboratory of his. Of course, when you had an undercover spy on your side, nothing was ever top-secret.

Sally activated her hidden microphone, speaking in a hushed tone, though still loud enough that she could be heard over the rain. "This is Mary-Sue calling Needlemouse," she said. "Come in, Needlemouse."

"Do we really have to use the codenames?" came the reply in Sally's earpiece.

Sally sighed. "Yes, Sonic," she replied, "that's why we came up with them."

"They sound so lame, though," said Sonic. "I mean, ‘Needlemouse’? Really?"

Sally rolled her eyes, ignoring Sonic. "I've got the plans," she said. "We'll regroup at the clock statue. Sheepdog, Bergerac, do you copy?"

"This is Sheepdog," said Bunnie Rabbot. "No sign o' trouble here. We're headin' on over."

"Zis is Bergerac," said Antoine d'Coolette. "Eez all clear. On my way back with Bunnie."

"Good to hear," said Sally. "Let's hurry up and get back to Knothole before Robotnik's goons find us." Peering round the statue to make sure there was nobody there, Sally darted out from behind the cover of the rusted structure and headed through the driving rain towards a small plaza, where a large clock statue stood lopsidedly in the centre, its buckled hands rusted in place.

Sonic was, unsurprisingly, already waiting there when she arrived, impatiently tapping his foot. It had only taken her a minute or two to reach the clock tower, but Sonic was so impatient that he probably would have been tired of waiting after only a few seconds. He seemed a little relieved to see her, but carried on tapping his foot until Bunnie and Antoine arrived as well, their soaked hair plastered across their faces.

"Y'all got the plans?" asked Bunnie, wiping a tuft of fur away from her eyes.

"Right here," said Sally, holding up the flash drive.

"Great going, Sal," said Sonic, grinning. "Now let's get outta here before-"

"Going somewhere, hedgehog?"

"…before that happens," finished Sonic lamely, a sinking feeling rising in his gut as he turned to face the source of the voice. It was Robotnik's vile nephew, Snively Kintobor, piloting one of his uncle’s fearsome bipedal robots. This one was an acidic shade of orange, with giant spiked balls for hands. With their visibility severely hampered by the heavy rain, he had somehow been able to sneak up on them and surprise them in spite of the robot’s large size and loud footsteps.

The moment he laid eyes on the machine, Antoine froze, his body gripped by panic as his shell-shock kicked in once more. "I'll take Ant and get these plans back to Knothole," said Sally, taking charge of the situation. "Sonic, you and Bunnie take care of Snively."

"We're on it," said Bunnie, readying herself into a combat stance.

"This'll only take a Sonic second," said Sonic, doing the same.

As Snively began to engage the other two, Sally took Antoine by the hand and tried to lead him away from the ensuing battleground. "Come on, Antoine," she said. "We have to get back to Knothole."

Antoine did not respond, nor move an inch. He was in another place, another time, watching for the hundredth time as the armies of the old kingdom crumbled around him before the might of Robotnik's army. The unstoppable wall of metal grew ever closer, a hail of neon-green laser fire coming at him from every direction, about to cut him to ribbons-

**_BOOM_**. A giant spiked fist slammed down into the dirt, and Antoine was shaken from his nightmare as the ground reverberated beneath his feet. " _Sacre bleu!_ " he exclaimed. "I… e-eet was…"

"It's okay, Antoine," said Sally, in a soothing, gentle voice. "It's alright. The SWATbots are gone. They can't hurt you now."

"Zey can't hurt me," repeated Antoine, nodding frantically as he tried desperately to keep hold of reality. "Zey can't hurt me."

"Come on, let's head back to Knothole," she said. "Our work here is done."

Antoine nodded again. " _Oui_ ," he said. "Our work here eez done."

As Antoine and Sally ran off, headed back towards the Great Forest, Sonic and Bunnie continued to face off against Snively's robot. The metal fists swung down again and again, trying to crush Sonic, but the speedy hedgehog sidestepped each blow at the last second, grinning smugly up at the Egg-O-Matic pod from which Snively controlled the machine. "I could do this all day, Snively," he taunted.

Snively growled at his tormentor. "Time for Plan B!"

Both of the robot's fists slammed down onto the ground at once, creating a massive shockwave that knocked both Sonic and Bunnie off their feet. As the pair picked themselves up, the spiked fists began to rotate, ripping up the ground around them and sending clumps of mud flying everywhere. "Let's see you stop my machine now, hedgehog!" he proclaimed, grinning nastily.

As the robot advanced towards them, churning the ground up with every step, Sonic seized Bunnie's hand and darted behind the clock tower. "Well, this makes things interesting," he remarked. "If I get too close, that thing’ll turn me into mincemeat!"

"Don't y'all worry," said Bunnie, flexing her robotic arm: an unwanted gift from Robotnik, along with her mechanical legs. "This looks like a job for ol' Bunnie Rabbot!"

With a click and a whirr, Bunnie's robot arm began to transform itself. A circular hole opened up inside her palm, revealing the barrel of a powerful laser cannon. Her fingers bent back unnaturally into her arm, save for one which remained sticking straight up, acting as a targeting reticle. A sky-blue glow began to emanate from within the barrel as the cannon charged itself with energy. Within seconds, it was ready to fire.

Ducking out from behind the statue, Bunnie closed one eye, aimed briefly, and fired. The laser blast struck the machine’s cockpit at full force, frying the control panel and rendering it almost completely inoperable. Snively tried desperately to work the busted controls, but his efforts were merely rewarded with a shower of sparks as the spinning maces slowed to a stop. "Curse you, rabbit!" he growled.

"Curse yourself," said Bunnie, grinning as she patted her smoking metal arm, her hand quickly recoiling from the hot metal.

"Timber!" cried Sonic. Curling into a tight ball, he rushed forwards, rolling along the ground at supreme speed. Leaping up, Sonic barrelled straight into the machine's chest, with more than enough force to knock the crippled robot over. Snively's Egg-O-Matic, docked in the robot's head, toppled out and rolled along the ground for a moment before lifting off, hovering several feet in the air above the broken robot's sparking remains.

"Well, this has been fun," said Sonic, "and we'd love to stay and chat, but… _we've got_ _plans_. Smell ya later, Snively!" And with that, Sonic took Bunnie's hand – her non-robotic one – and raced off, a deafening boom and a bright blue trail heralding his exit. In a matter of seconds he caught up to Sally and Antoine, seizing Sally's hand as he passed and taking the pair of them with him, Antoine suddenly clinging to the princess for dear life.

Snively hovered in the air for some time, watching the Freedom Fighters go. Strangely, he did not seem particularly fazed by their escape. "That's right, hedgehog," he said menacingly, "run while you still can. Once you see what we have in store for you and your friends, you'll realize there's nowhere on Mobius you can hide!" Laughing maniacally, he turned the Egg-O-Matic around and headed in the opposite direction, towards Dr. Robotnik's fortress.

* * *

 

It did not take Sonic long at all to reach Knothole, with the other Freedom Fighters in tow. Antoine had calmed down by the time they arrived back, his flashbacks swiftly fading away. As Sonic and the others skidded to a halt inside the main square, they were greeted by the village's two other main residents. Rotor Walrus, the group's main technical expert, headed straight for Sally. "Did you get the plans?" he asked.

Sally held up the flash drive containing the plans. "They're in here," she said. "I'm going to analyse them with NICOLE shortly, but first I'd like you to scan this, and make sure it doesn't include any nasty surprises from Robotnik." Recently, the dictator had taken to bundling viruses in with his plans to try and shut the Freedom Fighters’ computer systems down from the inside, and while it hadn't worked so far, Sally wasn't taking any chances.

Rotor took the drive from Sally and headed off to his workshop, with his young assistant Tails in tow. "I'm gonna hit the hay," said Bunnie, stifling a yawn, "I need a power-nap. No pun intended." Bunnie's arm cannon may have been powerful enough to put Snively's robot out of commission, but it used a lot of energy, and firing it always exhausted her. For this reason, she usually restricted herself to firing it once per day, and only in dire emergencies, as had been the case back at Scrap Brain Zone.

"And I,” declared Antoine, “shall start preparing supper!" Antoine's shell-shock may have reduced his effectiveness as a soldier, but he was still an excellent chef. Most of the time.

"It better not be escargot again, Ant!" Sonic called out, as Antoine headed towards the kitchens.

Sally remained with Sonic in the main square. She had something important to discuss with him. "So," she said, "Charles believes these plans are for some kind of powerful super-weapon. What do you suppose it could be?"

Charles was Sonic's uncle, one of Mobius' top scientific minds prior to Robotnik's _coup d’état_ ten years ago. It was he that had invented Robotnik’s most feared weapon: the Roboticizer, a device that converted living beings into mindless robotic slaves. Charles had intended the technology to be used to prolong the lifespans of the sick and injured, and had abandoned it when he discovered its dreadful side effects. Robotnik, however, had had no such qualms about using it, and now almost every single person on Mobius had been turned into his robotic servants, including Charles himself.

Except Charles had not become mindless. By some miracle, the process had malfunctioned, and he had retained his free will. Charles now worked for the Freedom Fighters as a double agent, passing them information about Robotnik's schemes whenever he had the opportunity. It was he who had alerted them to this new super-weapon, whatever it may be, and it was he who had told them where the plans were being kept.

Sonic merely shrugged in response to Sally’s question. "I dunno,” he said, “but he seemed pretty rattled when I talked to him. He reckons it's gotta be both new and big. _Really_ big."

"That’s not really very helpful," said Sally.

"Well, that's all he knew," said Sonic. "Apparently there's been a lot of activity lately in Buttnik's research centres, so he reckons maybe it uses some fancy new tech Buttnik's invented, and there's some kinks that need working out."

"That would make sense," said Sally, looking pensive. "But then, if it's something we've never seen before-"

"Sally!"

Looking up, Sally saw Rotor running towards her, the flash drive in his hand. It had only been a couple of minutes, and his hurried pace and concerned expression told Sally that something was very wrong. "What it is, Rotor?" she asked.

Rotor came to a halt a few feet away, resting his hands on his knees for a moment while he recovered his breath. "I checked the flash drive," he said eventually. "Not only were there no viruses on it… it's not even encrypted."

"Not encrypted?" repeated Sally, surprised. "I don't think Robotnik's ever not encrypted something…"

"Well, maybe ol' Blubber Boy just forgot this time," suggested Sonic crudely.

"Or maybe… maybe he wants us to see what's on this drive," pondered Sally, as she took the flash drive from Rotor. "He wants us to see what he's got in store for us."

"Then let's take a look already!" said Sonic. "The sooner we know what it is, the sooner I can wreck it!"

"I think we should gather everyone else here first," suggested Sally. "If this really is as game-changing as your uncle suggests, then it might be best if we all knew about it as soon as possible."

"I'm on it!" said Sonic, before whizzing off through the village.

Sonic returned within seconds, with Bunnie, Antoine and Tails in tow. Bunnie was still half-asleep, one long ear flopped over her face. "Wha-wha's goin' on?" she's slurred.

"We're going to analyse the plans, see what Robotnik has in store for us, and then figure out a way to stop whatever it is before it does whatever it's supposed to do," said Sally.

Bunnie clearly did not comprehend this in her tired state, but nodded anyway. "Sure, sure, just lemme-" With that, she toppled over sideways and was asleep before she hit the ground.

Sally, ignoring the slumbering Bunnie, Sally retrieved a small clamshell computer device from her jacket pocket. This was NICOLE, a powerful sentient computer that she had been received shortly after her arrival at Knothole. She knew not who had sent it to her, or even who had built it; it had just arrived out of the blue one day, in a parcel addressed to her, with a sticky label attached that read simply, "ROBOTNIK WILL FALL. THIS WILL HELP". In a dark time, those words had helped encourage her, and sure enough, NICOLE had proved to be an invaluable tool in the fight against Robotnik, able to crack even his toughest encryptions with ease.

Sally opened up the device, holding it in the palm of one hand. The holographic projector in the bottom half of the shell activated with a soft whirr, projecting a six-inch hologram of NICOLE's AI interface from the base. This AI took the form of a female lynx, with tan fur streaked with black, wearing a purple, black and white sleeveless bodysuit. At first NICOLE had been nothing more than an emotionless computer program, but in the ten years Sally had owned her, she seemed to have developed a full personality of her own.

"Good afternoon, Miss Sally," said NICOLE, bowing slightly in greeting. "How may I be of assistance?"

"I'd like you to analyse the plans that are on this flash drive," said Sally. "If you can, project a 3D hologram of them for us."

"That sounds simple enough," said NICOLE. Sally inserted the flash drive into a slot in the side of NICOLE's base, and waited a moment.

"That's odd," remarked NICOLE. "These files appear to be from Robotnik's servers, yet they are not encrypted."

"That's what we were just talking about as well," said Sally. "It's very strange."

"Yeah, yeah, we've established that," said Sonic impatiently, tapping his foot. "Let's just see what it is already!"

Sally sighed, rolling her eyes. Sonic may have been the most capable of all the Freedom Fighters, but his arrogance and impatience still drove the young princess to distraction. "Gosh, you can never even wait just five seconds, can you?" she said.

"Yeah, Sonic," said NICOLE, her demeanour changing markedly. "You need to learn to chillax." Sally sighed once more. For some reason, in spite of her usually perfect diction, NICOLE seemed to lapse into using Sonic's slang whenever she addressed him. Perhaps she had worked out that it was the best way to get through to him, or that he didn’t understand her usual technobabble. Or perhaps he had just shaken her in frustration one too many times.

Whatever the reason, it worked, and Sonic managed to calm himself down. "Alright, sorry," he said. "Now, whenever you're ready…"

NICOLE nodded, and a moment later her holographic form fizzled away. Replacing it was a slowly-rotating hologram of an enormous spherical object, the likes of which none of the Freedom Fighters had ever seen before. The front of it was decorated with a stylized facsimile of Robotnik's face, complete with a giant walrus moustache, and its entire frame was criss-crossed with numerous panel lines. Sally, curious, placed NICOLE down on the ground, allowing the other Freedom Fighters to get a better look at the projection.

"What is it?" asked Tails curiously.

"It's ugly, that's what it is," remarked Sonic, grimacing at the sight of Robotnik's metallic visage.

"Eez eet a bomb of some kind?" asked Antoine, tilting his head slightly.

NICOLE's voice issued forth from the hologram. "Judging by its specifications, it appears to be a heavily-armoured, and heavily-armed, aerial battle fortress," it said. "Its designated codename is ‘The Death Egg’."

" _Aerial_ fortress?" repeated Sonic sceptically. "So this massive heap of junk can _fly?_ "

"Apparently so," said NICOLE. "However, I've crunched some numbers and I just don't see how that’s possible."

"Why?" asked Sally. "How big _is_ this thing?"

"Its dry weight is estimated at some 450,000 tonnes," said NICOLE. "Its diameter is precisely two thousand, four hundred and thirty-six metres, and twenty-seven centimetres, or precisely-"

"Yeah, we get it, it's huge," said Sonic, rolling his eyes. "So how's Buttnik gonna make it fly?"

"I don't know," admitted NICOLE. "The power source isn't specified."

"Really?" asked Sally, surprised. "That's strange."

"Indeed," said NICOLE. "There is, however, one other function of this fortress that should be taken into consideration. Observe."

The concave dishes that formed Robotnik's eyes suddenly began to light up, glowing with a mysterious green energy. Then, two large holographic laser beams shot out of its eyes with a loud _pew_ , flying right over the sleeping Bunnie, who woke with a start. "Huh? What in tarnation-?" she cried, startled.

The rest of the Freedom Fighters were in awe of this kind of firepower. "My goodness…" breathed Sally. "Those lasers would be enough to destroy the entire Great Forest, let alone Knothole."

“So _that’s_ why Robotnik wanted us to see it,” said Rotor. “He really thinks that this Death Egg is going to wipe us all out, and he wants to make sure we know it. He wants us running scared.”

Sally quickly composed herself. “Well, that’s not going to happen,” she said defiantly. "Instead of running scared, we’re going to make sure that this monstrosity never gets off the ground. NICOLE, do the schematics say where the Death Egg is being constructed?"

"No," said NICOLE, "but its estimated completion date is one week from now."

"That's no time at all," said Sally. "We've got to find this thing, and fast. The quickest way will be from the air, and considering how big this thing is, its construction site shouldn't be too hard to spot." She turned to Rotor. "Rotor, is that new plane you and Tails were working on finished yet?"

"It is," said Rotor. "I suggest having Tails pilot it, since he's already familiar with the inner workings. I'd do it myself, but…" Rotor glanced down at his rotund figure. "…I can't exactly fit in the cockpit."

"Tails, can you fly this plane?" asked Sally.

"I'll do my best!" said Tails enthusiastically.

"Good," said Sally. "Go out there, and check all Robotnik's known manufacturing facilities. Report back here once you've found the Death Egg's construction site; don't try and shut it down yourself. We'll send in Sonic for that.”

"Aye-aye, Princess Sally!" said Tails, saluting.

* * *

Dr. Julius Robotnik wore his usual devious grin on his face as he entered the Death Egg's control room. So far, everything had gone precisely according to plan. He'd deliberately leaked the information about the top-secret plans as bait for the Freedom Fighters. Had they failed to steal it, no harm done. Had Snively defeated them, he would have been free of them once and for all. As it happened, they'd escaped with the plans, but even that was no big deal. Now they knew what was coming for them, and they knew there was no way they could stop it. With their morale surely crushed, now was the time to strike.

Snively was already in the control room, poring over the monitors. As Robotnik entered, his nephew turned round to face him. "Good afternoon, your excellency," he said. "The Death Egg's completion is on schedule; we should be ready to lift off in a matter of days."

"We're moving the schedule forward," said Robotnik. "Are the Death Egg's propulsion and weapons systems online?"

"Yes," said Snively, "but-"

"Good," interrupted Robotnik, not caring for the objections of his subordinate. He swept an arm dramatically, pointing at the controls. "Launch the Death Egg! Set a course for the Great Forest!"

"But your rotundness," objected Snively, "the Death Egg's outer shell isn't quite complete yet! The Freedom Fighters could-"

"Could _what?_ " snarled Robotnik. "Fly up forty thousand feet in the air, through an army of Buzz Bombers, get inside, defeat our prototype guarding the engine room, and shut it down? Hah! There's no way they'll ever even get up here! Now launch the Death Egg! We're going to wipe the Great Forest off the face of Mobius, and those pesky Freedom Fighters with it!"

Snively knew there was no point in objecting further. There was nothing he could do to stop Robotnik from launching the Death Egg, even if doing so seemed like a big mistake to them. "As you wish, your majesty," he said. "Preparing launch sequence."

As Snively set about preparing for launch, Robotnik settled down in his command chair and steepled his fingers, peering expectantly at the monitors. "Let's see what this new power source is capable of.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Tails was piloting his plane high above the factories of Robotropolis, keeping a watchful eye out for any trace of the Death Egg. This city had formerly been known as Mobotropolis, and had been the capital of the Kingdom of Acorn that had peacefully ruled over the planet. Then Robotnik had taken over, and everything had changed. The formerly verdant city had been enveloped in a haze of smog and pollution, with SWATbot factories on every street corner, mobile vans that roboticized anyone they encountered, and fifty-foot statues of Robotnik adorning almost every open space. It was truly a grotesque sight to behold, though to Tails, who had never seen the splendour of the old capital, the city had always been this way.

Sally's voice came through the headset once more. "Any sign of the Death Egg yet, Tails?" she asked.

"Not yet, Princess Sally," said Tails. "I'll keep looki- wait, what's that sound?"

A low rumbling sound was audible in the distance, and the ground beneath the plane seemed to be shaking a little. Tails followed the sound, looking to the right, and saw the one thing he had not wanted to see: the Death Egg's spherical form slowly rising from the ground in the distance, the steel behemoth suddenly dominating the skyline. Its profile had been obscured by a plethora of tall buildings and cranes, some of which promptly toppled over and crumbled as the machine rose higher and higher.

"Tails, what's going on?" asked Sally. "What's happening?"

In his shock, it took the young fox a moment or two to find his voice. "Uhh… well, the good news is, I found the Death Egg," he said nervously.

"And the bad news?" said Sally warily.

"It's launching…" said Tails, the fear evident in his voice.

* * *

Sonic, Sally and Rotor were gathered round a monitor, tracking Tails' progress via radar, as well as the plane's diagnostics. With those two words, the mood in the room changed dramatically. Sally and Rotor both looked horrified, while Sonic leapt forward and grabbed the microphone, his expression suddenly serious. "Tails, get outta there now!" he shouted.

"Roger!” came the frantic reply.

"Rotor, bring up your aerial recon satellites and start tracking it," said Sally. "If that thing gets too close to Knothole, we'll have to evacuate."

"Not gonna happen, Sal," said Sonic confidently. "We're gonna knock that thing out of the sky before it reaches the Great Forest."

"How?" asked Sally. "How will you even get up there to shut it down?"

"Do I even have to say it?" asked Sonic, as though the answer was obvious. "I'll use-"

* * *

"A _plane?!_ " said Robotnik incredulously, as the craft appeared on the Death Egg's surveillance monitors. "Since when did those blasted Freedom Fighters have a plane?!"

"Shall we open fire on it, sir?" asked Snively.

"No, Snively," said Robotnik sarcastically, "I want you to invite it inside for tea and muffins." He angrily slammed his fist down on the control panel. "BLAST IT OUT OF THE SKY!"

"At once, your sphericalness," said Snively. 

The Death Egg, and the Buzz Bombers escorting it, opened fire, and Tails was left frantically trying to dodge a hail of laser fire. Almost losing control, the plane was pitched into several barrel rolls before Tails managed to recover control, shaking his head to clear his dizziness before opening the throttle as far as it would go, accelerating away.

Robotnik was undaunted. "Ready… fire the Egg Cannon!" he declared.

Snively pressed a large red button on the control panel, and the Death Egg's giant metallic eyes began to light up with a powerful green glow as the laser charged up. Tails noticed the glow and started to panic. "Uh-oh."

Tails banked hard to the left, and a second later the Egg Cannon fired, an enormous green laser pulse blasting from between its eyes. It barely missed the plane, instead evaporating a good several blocks of Robotropolis. Firepower that immense could wipe out the Great Forest in no time at all. Immensely relieved to have dodged the beam, Tails continued to make his escape.

* * *

 

"He's out of weapon range now, sir," said Snively, "and it'll take a while for the cannon to recharge. Shall we pursue him?"

"Certainly," said Robotnik. "After all, I can only imagine that he's scurrying back to Knothole now. All we have to do is follow him, and he'll lead us straight to the other Freedom Fighters."

"Very good, sir," said Snively. "The plane's travelling too fast for us to catch up with it, but I'm going to track it using our satellites. We'll be able to follow the path it takes, straight to Knothole."

"Excellent," said Robotnik, settling back in his chair. "How long until we arrive?"

"At our current speed, we should arrive at the Great Forest in about three hours," said Snively. "The Egg Cannon will be charged by then, and ready to destroy Knothole once and for all.

"Excellent," said Robotnik. "I've waited long enough to destroy those Freedom Fighters; I can wait a few more hours." And so the tyrant steepled his fingers, and waited.

* * *

Back at Knothole, Rotor was tracking Tails' retreat. His brow furrowed slightly. "This isn't good," he remarked.

"Is the Death Egg still pursuing him?" asked Sally.

"Yeah," said Rotor, nodding. "He's comfortably outrunning it, so it's not going to catch him, but it's matching his course exactly. At this rate, Tails will end up leading him straight here."

Once again Sonic reached in and grabbed the microphone. "Change your course, l'il bro!" he yelled into it. "You're leaving a trail for Buttnik to follow right to us!"

"I’m sorry, Sonic!" Tails replied, shouting over the rushing wind. "I didn't think he'd still be following me!"

"He's probably tracking you somehow," said Sonic.

"That would make sense," agreed Sally.

"So what should I do, Sonic?" asked Tails. "Wherever I land, the Death Egg will still be heading for me, right?"

"Yeah, good point…" Sonic thought for a moment. Then, he had an idea. It was a crazy idea, but it had to work. "Head northwest, towards the Emerald Hill Zone. Try and find a safe landing strip. I'll meet you there, and then with that flying fortress diverted away from here, we'll fly up there and take it down."

"And just how are you planning on doing that?" asked Sally warily. "That plane only has one seat, you know."

"Then I'll just hold on to the wings," said Sonic. "Simple!"

To Sally, this was a remarkably stupid plan even by Sonic's standards. "You can't be serious," she said flatly.

"I'm deadly serious," Sonic retorted. "It's the only way we can get up there in order to shut it down."

"But… you… you ca…" Sally forced herself to calm down and swallow her frustrations. She had to make Sonic see sense. This plan was never going to work. "Okay. Let's say you _somehow_ make it to the Death Egg without falling off the Tornado. Let's say you _somehow_ evade its defences and manage to get in close to it. How do you then plan on getting inside?"

This was where Rotor chimed in. "Here," he said, pointing at his surveillance footage. "There's a gap in its armour plating, near the back. I guess Robotnik must have launched it before it was finished.”

"When will he ever learn?" smirked Sonic, amused.

"Let's hope he never does, for all our sakes," Rotor replied.

Sally was flabbergasted at first, but eventually, realizing there was nothing she could do to stop him, she heaved a weary sigh. "Okay, fine," she said. "You can go. Here: take this headset." She tossed Sonic a thin pair of headphones with a small microphone attached, which the hedgehog promptly put on. "If you actually do make it inside in one piece, I'll have NICOLE project the schematics back up so I can guide you to the Death Egg's engine room."

"You'll be needing this as well, then," said Rotor, handing Sonic a metallic bracelet. "That bracelet contains a tracking signal. Once you're inside the Death Egg, we'll be able to use that signal to track your position inside it, so we know where you are and where to guide you."

"Alright, thanks, Rotor," said Sonic, slipping the bracelet onto his wrist. "I'll probably make it to Emerald Hill before Tails, so I'll scout out a good landing site for him. You can guide him to my location after that, right?"

"Of course I can," said Rotor. "Good luck, Sonic. We're all counting on you."

All Sally had to say was, "Please try not to fall off the plane."

"Thanks, guys," said Sonic, revving himself up. "Alright, I'm outta here: I got a plane to catch!" And with that, Sonic zoomed straight out of the building, racing out of Knothole and through the trees of the Great Forest in the direction of Emerald Hill Zone. As she watched him go, Sally let out another exasperated sigh.

"You're worried about him, aren't you, Sally?" asked Rotor.

"Of course I am!" retorted Sally, her face turning pink. "He's the Freedom Fighter's greatest hope in the battle against Robotnik, but he takes such stupid risks! If he falls off that plane and breaks his neck, it's his own stupid fault."


	2. The Death Egg (Part 2)

By the time Tails arrived at the designated landing point in Emerald Hill Zone, Sonic was, naturally, already there waiting for him. “Oh, there you are, buddy,” he said, as the plane touched down. “I was starting to get worried.”

“Sorry, Sonic,” said Tails. “This was a pretty hefty detour. Are you sure about this?” he added, as Sonic began to climb onto the plane’s top wing.

“It’s the only shot we have at taking that thing down,” said Sonic, perching himself neatly behind Tails. “Alright, take us up, lil’ bro, and let’s blow that hunk of junk outta the sky.”

“You got it, Sonic.” Tails pushed forwards on the controls and the plane taxied through the verdant greenery, trundling down a hill to build up extra momentum before going over a crest and soaring into the skies. Tails slowly brought the plane round, taking care not to bank too hard lest he tip Sonic off, heading off in the direction of the Death Egg, which was now just visible in the distance as a faint gray speck.

“It won’t be long before that thing reaches the Great Forest,” said Sonic, looking almost worried. “How soon can we get to it?”  
  
“I don’t know,” said Tails. “But I’ll get us there as fast as I can.” Tilting the controls as far forward as they would go, Tails set off at full speed towards the oncoming Death Egg.

*** 

“It seems the plane is headed back this way, sir,” said Snively, as the Tornado came into focus once more on the Death Egg’s monitors. “And is that... sir, it would appear as though Sonic the Hedgehog is on the plane’s wing.”

“Sonic?!” Robotnik immediately turned round in his chair, watching bug-eyed as his nemesis’ face loomed large on the screen before him. His look of horror slowly turned into a sly, evil grin. “Well, now, isn’t this interesting. I can take out my arch-enemy before I even reach the Great Forest. What’s the state of the Egg Cannon, Snively?”

“Still charging, your rotundness,” said Snively, consulting another of the Death Egg’s monitors. “The Balkiry squadrons are ready to fly, though. Shall I send them out to deal with the plane?”

Robotnik turned his attention back to the controls. “Make it so,” he said.

*** 

It wasn’t long before the Death Egg was hovering menacingly before Sonic and Tails, the colossal metal sphere taking up most of their vision. “Oh man, that thing’s even uglier up close,” Sonic remarked.

“How are we gonna get inside, Sonic?” asked Tails. “I doubt there’s a front door.”

“I think we got bigger problems than that, lil’ bro,” said Sonic, pointing ahead. “We got company.”

Peering ahead, Tails was able to make out the oncoming horde of red bird-shaped Badniks, hurtling their way at incredible speeds. “Hold on, Sonic,” he warned. “Things could get a little rough.” As the first Balkiry barrelled straight towards them, Tails steered sharply away to avoid it, then back the other way to avoid a second one. Both Balkiries swiftly performed flawless Immelmann turns and began pursuing after the plane.

“I don’t suppose Rotor equipped this thing with any weapons?” suggested Sonic, as more Balkiry zeroed in on them.

“As a matter of fact...” There were two small red buttons sticking out of the top of the control sticks. Tails pressed down on them with his thumb and the plane’s twin laser guns burst into life, blasting apart several Balkiry in a matter of seconds. A number of stray shots connected with the Death Egg’s exterior, but simply bounced off its outer shell.

“Nice shooting, Tails,” said Sonic. “Now take us around. There’s gotta be a way in somewhere.”

“Aye-aye, Sonic!” said Tails.

The plane began to fly its way around the side of the Death Egg, Tail continually blasting away at the Balkiries that hounded them and occasionally having to take evasive action from one that came too close. It was only at this point, as they were right up close to the Death Egg and circling its perimeter, that they were truly able to comprehend the sheer vastness of it. It was almost like an artificial moon that had fallen from its orbit and was about to cause an apocalypse, with only Sonic and Tails standing in its way. Their task suddenly seemed so much bigger. Literally.

After a few moments, Tails suddenly pointed towards the Death Egg. “There!” he yelled over the various battle noises. “There’s a gap in the Death Egg’s outer shell! Robotnik must have launched the Death Egg before it was fully complete!”

Sonic chuckled as he spotted the crevasse in the Death Egg’s casing. “You’d think ol’ Baldy would’ve learned his lesson by now,” he quipped.

“Let’s hope he never does,” Tails replied. “Alright, get ready, Sonic!”

“I was ready ages ago,” said Sonic.

Tails pulled the plane around, pointing it in the same direction as the Death Egg, and began to fly in closer. The Balkiries continued to swarm at them, but Tails’ manoeuvring skills were excellent and, despite a few near misses, none of them made contact. Some slammed into their brethren and destroyed one another, and as the plane inched closer to the Death Egg, more and more of the Balkiries’ charges tended to end in the hapless Badniks running headlong into the flying fortress and exploding.

Somehow, Tails managed to get within a few feet of the lip of the crevasse, flying slightly ahead of it. At this distance, they could again appreciate the size of the gap: it was perhaps hundreds of feet long and dozens of feet wide, exposing several of the Death Egg’s floors. It was a testament to the metal behemoth’s size and rigidity that it was able to fly this fast at such a high altitude without suffering from explosive decompression.

“I can’t land!” Tails pointed out, somewhat obviously. “You’ll have to jump in! I’ll come back for you when you’re done, I promise!”

Peering into the vast gap, Sonic saw that there was a solid floor not far below for him to land on. It wasn’t going to be comfortable, but it was doable. “Alright,” he said. “See ya soon, lil’ bro!”

With that, Sonic jumped. His momentum, and that of the Death Egg, took him straight through the crevasse and into the Death Egg’s interior. Curling into a ball, Sonic hit the metal floor and tumbled across it for a few seconds before finally coming to rest. “Oog... not exactly the smoothest landing I’ve ever had...” he groaned, as he shakily climbed to his feet.

Once he had gotten his bearings, Sonic straightened his headset, which had been knocked askew by the landing, and switched it on. "Alright, Sal, I'm inside the Death Egg," he said. "Told ya I wouldn't get blown off the plane."

Sally couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief. "Okay, good. Now for the hard part: you'll need to stay still for a moment so Rotor can synchronize your positional data with the Death Egg’s schematics, and work out the fastest route to the generator room from your current position."

"And how long will that take?" asked Sonic, who was already starting to get a little impatient now that he was actually inside the Death Egg.

"I don't know," said Sally, "but it shouldn't take more than a minute. I'll let you know as soon as we have the route ready."

"Alright," said Sonic, "but if any SWATbots show up, I'm taking off."

Sally opened up NICOLE, placing her gently on the floor. "What do you require, Princess Sally?" asked the holographic lynx.

"I need you to project the Death Egg's schematics again for me," said Sally. "This time, highlight the generator room in red. We're going to feed you Sonic's positional data; highlight that in blue for me. Then, give me the fastest route to the generator room from Sonic's current position."

"Affirmative." The lynx projection disappeared, to be replaced with the Death Egg's three-dimensional schematics. A small room in the exact centre began to pulse bright red. This, it seemed, was their goal. Rotor wirelessly beamed Sonic's positional co-ordinates to NICOLE, and by cross-referencing them with the Death Egg's co-ordinates, she was able to mark him on the map with extreme precision. As expected, he was currently at the very edge of the Death Egg, and his blue positional dot seemed to be jittering slightly. This was either because the Death Egg's relentless march towards the Great Forest was complicating the calculations, or simply because Sonic was already so bored that he was running round in circles to relieve himself. Sally, having known Sonic for most of her life, figured it was probably the latter.

After a further moment, a green trail began to snake its way through the Death Egg in the direction of the generator room. It certainly wasn't as-the-Buzzbomber-flies, but since Sonic would be the one traversing it, it probably wouldn't take him any time at all. Sally zoomed in on the schematics with a wave of her hand, focusing them on Sonic's location. "Okay, we've got the path ready," she said.

"Took you long enough," said Sonic. "So, which way do I go?"

"Head straight forwards, then take the third right," said Sally.

"Got it." Glad to finally be able to get going, Sonic zoomed off down the corridor in front of him. He counted the right-hand pathways under his breath, then quickly turned down the third one he encountered. "Okay, now what?"

"Take the next left," said Sally.

"Right," said Sonic, as he took the left.

"No, _left_ ," said Sally. " _Then_ right."

"Right," said Sonic, as he took the right.

"Now there should be a staircase-"

"Already halfway down it," said Sonic.

"Of course you are," said Sally wearily. It wasn't easy directing someone who could move faster than you could speak. "Now just go straight on for a while."

"You got it, Sal," said Sonic. A couple of Badniks noticed Sonic approaching, but Sonic simply tore straight through them with a Spin Dash and kept going without missing a beat.

*** 

A short time later, Sonic found himself brought to a halt by a closed door. "This doesn’t look like the generator room," Sonic remarked.

"That's because it isn't," said Sally. "You have to go through this room to get to it. Be careful, Sonic: Robotnik's not going to let you into the generator room that easily. I don't know what kind of dastardly traps might be lurking on the other side of that door, but you'll need to-"

Sally was cut off by an almighty _clang_ as Sonic impatiently Spin Dashed straight through the steel door, knocking it off its hinges. "Or you could just barge straight in like an idiot," muttered Sally sardonically, "that works too."

The room beyond seemed to be almost entirely empty, save for a lone figure located at the opposite end, guarding the only exit. Sonic took one look at the figure and immediately did a double-take. "What the-"

The figure standing before him was a large metallic facsimile of himself, at least a foot taller and constructed entirely of thick silvery steel. Its eyes glowed a menacing orange as it locked its gaze on the real Sonic stood before it.

"Well, they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," Sonic remarked.

The silver Sonic replica curled up into a ball and began to rev up a version of Sonic's own Spin Dash, its sharp metallic spines gleaming dangerously as they ground against the floor, creating a horrible metallic squeal and sending sparks skidding across the room. "What's that noise?" asked Sally warily. "Sonic, what's going on?"

"We've got a bit of a problem," said Sonic.

As the curled-up machine launched itself at him, its metallic spikes gleaming dangerously, Sonic leapt out of the way just in time and the robot was sent hurtling straight through the open doorway and into the corridors. Sonic watched on with some amusement. "Looks like Buttnik forgot to install the brakes on that thing," he quipped.

"What just happened?" asked Sally. "Are you alright, Sonic?"

"Looks like Buttnik's built some kind of metal version of me to guard the generator," said Sonic. "I think I lost it, though."

"A robotic version of you?" Sally made a noise over the radio that rather sounded like a suppressed giggle. "I dare say it must be an improvement over the original."

"Hey!" said Sonic, feeling rather insulted. "Who's the one bustin' his behind to try and save you guys?"

"You're right, I'm sorry," said Sally, suppressing another giggle. "It makes a change from robotic versions of himself, at any rate. Well then, if it's safe, head towards the generator and shut it down."

"You got it, Sal," said Sonic. "Let's do this!" Spin Dashing through the door at the other end, Sonic suddenly found himself on a set of narrow walkways spanning an enormous chasm. This was the central ventilation chamber of the Death Egg, with the generator room suspended in the centre. The ceiling had to have been at least a hundred metres above him, and the floor at least a hundred metres below. All that separated him from a gruesome demise was a metre-high railing made of rather flimsy-looking metal. "This can't be safe," said Sonic.

"That's probably the idea," said Sally. "Be careful, Sonic."

Sonic nodded, and made his way across the walkways as fast as he dared. If he went too fast, the resulting vibrations would rip the thin metal sheets beneath his feet to pieces. Ultimately, however, he made it to the door of the generator room, which seemed surprisingly small, and forced his way inside.

As he entered the generator room, Sonic approached the apparatus and was immediately taken aback. He had been expecting a massive tangle of complex machinery, and generators as large as houses. What he saw instead was like nothing he had ever seen before, and it completely stumped him. " _This_ is the Death Egg's power source…?" he exclaimed, perplexed.

*** 

All of a sudden, alarms began to blare in Robotnik's control room. "What's going on?!" the dictator bellowed, pounding a fist on the control panel. "Don't tell me that hedgehog managed to shut down the generator!"

"It looks like he removed the power source," said Snively. With the Death Egg's generator having been disabled, its propulsion systems were now offline. Momentum kept it moving forwards for the moment, but without anything keeping it in the air, it was slowly beginning to plummet towards the lake below.

Robotnik growled in frustration. "What is that prototype doing?! There's no way it should have let Sonic through!" He quickly jabbed a button on the control panel. "Attention, Metal Sonic Mk.I! Destroy that hedgehog and retrieve the power source!"

***

As Sonic rushed out of the generator room, Sally contacted him once again. "Looks like the generator's down," she said. "Nice job, Sonic."

"Piece of cake," said Sonic. "Now to haul haunch outta here before- UGH!"

Metal Sonic Mk.I slammed into Sonic just as he passed through the doorway back into the corridors, knocking him backwards. A mysterious object tumbled out of Sonic's hand: a bright green gem that he had found inside the generator room. It appeared to have been the power source. No doubt the machine had come to put it back, just as soon as it disposed of him.

"What now?" asked Sally, in a tone of resignation.

"Looks like that copy of me has come back for the power source," said Sonic, picking himself back up. "I'm gonna hafta fight my way past it this time."

"I see," said Sally. "Well, I'm sure you can defeat it. But you'll have to be quick: without power, it won't be long before-"

"Then let's quit talking and start fighting," said Sonic, focusing his attention on the machine.

The spines on the robot's back opened up, revealing a set of thrusters that suddenly propelled it towards the fallen power source. Sonic quickly darted forward and just managed to snatch it up before the robot could reach it, racing round it and heading off on his way. Unfazed, the machine promptly turned round and dashed off through the corridors in pursuit.

Sonic looked back and was surprised to find that the machine was managing to keep up with him. "I see Robotnik managed to capture my best feature, at least," he remarked, before shooting the robot a competitive grin. "Alright then! Catch me if you can, ya heap o' junk!"

SWATbots and Badniks began to block Sonic's path, trying to pen him in. Sonic effortlessly dodged a volley of laser fire from a group of SWATbots ahead of him and barrelled straight through them with a Spin Dash, obliterating them. Metal Sonic Mk.I continued onwards, straight through the smoke and debris thrown up by the explosion, and kept up the chase.

***

"Sir, our auxiliary power supply is almost depleted," said Snively. "We have to leave now, otherwise the escape pods will lose power. I hate to admit it, but… it looks like the Death Egg is lost."

"Impossible!" roared Robotnik, slamming his fists against the controller. "There's no way that hedgehog could have-"

Robotnik cut himself off as the lights in the control room suddenly flickered and died. There was no longer enough power left to run everything, and the lights had the lowest priority. It was no use. Snively was right. He had to abandon the station, for now at least. There was still the chance that Metal Sonic Mk.I could retrieve the power source and put it back, but time was running short. In only a few minutes, the station would strike the lake's surface, and even if the impact didn't tear it apart, it would still sink straight to the bottom and be lost forever. For now, he had no choice.

"Alright, fine!" said Robotnik. "Activate the escape pods, and order all remaining Badniks to fire on Tails' plane! Even if Sonic somehow manages to defeat Metal Sonic Mk.I, there's no way he can make it off this station without that plane!" As Snively stayed behind for a moment to carry out the final orders, Robotnik hefted himself out of his chair and made his way towards the escape pods, hoping that Metal Sonic would fulfil its design purpose and rid him of the real Sonic once and for all.

***

Tails was still circling the Death Egg in the Tornado, waiting for Sonic to get in touch, and so he was quick to spot the escape pods being launched from the falling station. "Robotnik's got to be in one of those," he noted. "If I can shoot it down…" This train of thought was quickly derailed when Tails noticed a squadron of Buzzbombers approaching at close range. "Never mind that," he said. "I'll have to just concentrate on not getting shot down myself! Sonic needs me!"

Banking the plane round, Tails began to engage the Buzzbombers, shooting them down with the plane's machine guns while simultaneously avoiding their volleys of laser fire. _I need to win this_ , he thought. _I can't let Sonic down. Oh, Sonic… I hope you're okay…_

*** 

Meanwhile, Metal Sonic Mk.I was continuing to chase the real Sonic through the corridors of the falling Death Egg, occasionally firing volleys of lasers in the hedgehog's direction. Every single one missed. Sonic turned to face the machine, taunting it while running backwards. "Man, even when they're based on me, Buttnik's machines are useless!" he quipped. "Ya can't catch me, and ya couldn't hit the broad side of a b- WAAAAAAAAH!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the machine scored an almost direct hit, catching Sonic off-balance and sending him tumbling down the corridor. When he finally came to a stop, sprawled across the metal walkway, Sonic let out a groan and almost immediately started to pick himself up. In the meantime, Metal Sonic Mk.I had come to a halt and was preparing another Spin Dash.

"I had to open my mouth," muttered Sonic as he straightened back up again. "Well, come on then, ya big bag o' bolts! Give it your best shot!"

The robotic duplicate unleashed its Spin Dash, tearing down the corridor towards Sonic at frightening speed, its metallic spikes gleaming dangerously. Sonic merely dodged to one side at the last second, shouting, "Olé!" The machine attempted to turn around in mid-spin, to try and get another shot at Sonic, but in the tight confines of the corridor this simply proved impossible and instead the machine toppled over, skidding sideways along the corridor in a shower of sparks. Sonic winced and covered his ears as the scraping of metal against metal created a horrific screeching sound.

As the machine finally skidded to a halt, Sally's voice sounded once more in Sonic's ear. "Sonic, you need to get out of there now!" she insisted. "You're running out of time before the Death Egg hits the lake's surface!"

"Yeah, I know!" said Sonic impatiently. "This darn robot keeps getting in my way!"

"Then destroy it!" said Sally.

"I don't think it's gonna be that easy," said Sonic, as the machine started to climb back to its feet.

"Well, you'll have to find a way, somehow," said Sally. "By Rotor's calculations, you have less than two minutes left."

"That's plenty of time," said Sonic. "Take a chill pill, Sal, I got this."

Metal Sonic Mk.I began to rev up yet another Spin Dash attack, and this time Sonic had an idea. As the machine launched itself at him, Sonic dodged to the side as he had before, and then raced off down the corridor at full speed. By the time Metal Sonic Mk.I had come out of its Spin Dash to try and relocate the hedgehog, it was far too late; Sonic was halfway to the exit and far out of the machine's visual range. Even if it knew how to follow him, it would never be able to catch him now. Finally, Sonic had managed to escape.

"Tails, I'm on my way to the exit," Sonic said, speaking into his microphone. "You'll be there to pick me up, right?"

"Sorry, Sonic," came the reply. "I'm stuck fighting a swarm of Buzzbombers. How long until the station hits the water?"

"Not very long at all, l'il bro," said Sonic. "I need you to pick me up ASAP, got it?"

"Okay," said Tails. "I'll try my best."

"Thanks, buddy," said Sonic. "I'll be at the exit in about… three seconds."

Sure enough, mere seconds later Sonic emerged onto the unfinished platform at the very edge of the Death Egg. Tails was still some distance away, engaging the squadron of Buzzbombers, and the water below was getting uncomfortably close. Sonic could see the reflection of the Death Egg looming large in the sparkling waters below. "Why did it have to be water…?" he lamented.

Still the dogfight continued. Tails couldn't shake the persistent Badniks, and even if he could, the Death Egg's faltering forward momentum would make it difficult for him to pull alongside and pick Sonic up. All the while, the waters below continued to get closer and closer. There was nothing else for it. Sonic would have to jump from the platform, and hope that Tails would be there to catch him before he hit the bottom. "Here goes nothing," he muttered to himself, and with that, he jumped.

Tails spotted Sonic's jump and, ignoring the few Buzzbombers that were left, focused his attention solely on saving his friend. "Don't worry, Sonic, I've got you!" he shouted. Pulling into a steep banked dive, Tails swooped down in pursuit of Sonic, leaving his tormentors in the dust. He caught Sonic with just metres to spare, the hedgehog landing neatly on the plane's wings as it skimmed over the surface of the lake.

"Nice catch, bro," said Sonic, high-fiving the young fox.

"Thanks, Sonic," said Tails, smiling. "You did great too."

"Well, duh," said Sonic. "When do I ever no-"

Sonic's bragging was cut off in mid-sentence by an almighty crash from behind them. Turning round, Sonic and Tails saw that the Death Egg had finally struck the water's surface, forming an immense circular tidal wave at the point of impact. The shock ripped the flying fortress' metal plating apart like rice paper, torrents of salt-water pouring through the corridors and obliterating everything in their wake. Metal Sonic Mk.I was helpless to resist as the torrent carried it away, the water frying its circuits.

Had the Death Egg still had power, its electrics would have met the same fate. Instead, the station was simply ripped apart at the seams, slowly disintegrating from the bottom up into millions of pieces of scrap metal, all the while continuing to sink lower and lower into the depths. Sonic and Tails watched the fortress' gradual destruction, and both felt immensely relieved, for they knew that Knothole was safe from annihilation for another day.

"Sally, you there?" asked Sonic.

"Yeah," said Sally, her voice overflowing with relief. "I'm here. Good job, Sonic. You saved us all."

"I know," said Sonic. "All in a day's work. Glad I made it outta there in one piece."

"And that robotic copy of you?" asked Sally. "What happened to that?"

"Went down with the ship," said Sonic. "We won't be seeing him again."

*** 

Dr. Robotnik was not happy. He was sat opposite Snively in the cramped escape pod, and if looks could kill, his subordinate would be dead several times over. "So, to recap… we lost the Death Egg…" Snively nodded. "We lost the only copy of the Death Egg's plans…" Snively nodded again. "We lost Metal Sonic Mk.I…" Snively nodded reluctantly. "…and we lost the power source." Snively nodded once more, shrinking back a little. Robotnik, however, seemed to be trying his best to stay calm. " _Please_ tell me we at least have the data on that plane's flight path?" he asked.

"Err… I'm afraid not, sir," said Snively meekly, "it was lost when the Death Egg's main servers were… destroyed…"

Robotnik let out a howl of rage, and in his anger, the portly dictator seemed to swell and take up even more of the escape pod than before. Snively shrunk back into the wall as though hoping he could disappear inside it, clamping his hands over his ears in anticipation of what was to follow.

" **I HATE THAT HEDGEHOOOOOOOG!!!** " Robotnik bellowed.

*** 

A short while later, Sonic and Tails arrived back at Knothole to a hero's welcome. As Rotor helped Tails wheel his plane back into the hangar, the others went over to congratulate Sonic on a job well done. "Good work, Sonic," said Sally. "Your plan may sounded like madness to me at first, but it worked out brilliantly. If you hadn't stopped that thing, we would have all been goners. You too, Tails," she called out to the young fox. "Nice job flying that plane."

"Aww, it was nothing," said Tails.

"There's still one thing bothering me about this, though," said Sally.

"Oui!" said Antoine, nodding in agreement. "What eef Robotnik makes anuzzer of zose dreadful theengs?"

"Well, he _can't_ , Antoine," said Sally. "We stole the only copy of the plans, remember?"

"Oh, yes, of course," said Antoine. "Zat's a relief."

"No, what I mean is, how did Robotnik manage to power something that big and that heavy?" she asked. "Like NICOLE said, the Death Egg just shouldn't have been able to fly. To generate the necessary power would require a-"

"-a tremendous source of energy!" Without warning, Rotor had suddenly flung open the door to his workshop and was now hurrying towards the others, a miniature scanner device clutched in his hand.

"Exactly!" said Sally instinctively, before pausing for a moment and turning to face Rotor. "Wait, what?"

"I'm picking up a tremendous source of energy!" cried Rotor, as he approached the others. "And it coming from Sonic!" he added, consulting his scanner.

"What?" said Sally. She and the other Freedom Fighters all turned to look at Sonic, surprised.

"Oh, right," said Sonic. "I snagged this from the Death Egg's generator room." Holding out his hand, he revealed the glowing green gem that he had found. "I dunno what it is, but I think it must have been the power source."

" _That_ tiny thing?!" said Bunnie, incredulously. "Ain't no way somethin’ that small could power somethin’ like the Death Egg!"

"My scanner says otherwise," said Rotor. His scanner was now pointed directly at the jewel, and its readings confirmed Sonic's suspicions. "Whatever that jewel is, its energy levels are off the scale!"

Sally peered forward to inspect the jewel. "So this is how Robotnik got that thing off the ground," she said. "Hmm… I wonder…"

"Wonder what, Sal?" asked Sonic.

Sally straightened up, looking at Sonic with a concerned expression. "What if this isn't the only one of its kind?" she asked. "What if there are more of these jewels out there, with the same kind of power level? If there are-"

"-Buttnik will be looking for them," continued Sonic. "And if he finds them-"

"-then we're in a whole mess o' trouble," completed Bunnie.

"We just have to hope zat zis ees zee only one, then," said Antoine.

"Indeed," said Sally. "Let's hope so, for all our sakes."

***

Once Robotnik had sufficiently calmed down, Snively consulted his tablet in search of some crumbs of comfort, and quickly found one. "There _is_ some good news, sir," he said.

"And what could that be?" asked Robotnik.

"Research and Development Division #92393 has just filed a progress report," said Snively. "The designs for Metal Sonic Mk.II are nearing completion. Construction could begin as soon as next week."

"Good," said Robotnik, relaxing a little. "I want it ready as soon as possible."

"One more thing, sir," said Snively. "Scouting Division #786 has reported in. Their mission was a success."

This grabbed Robotnik's attention immediately, causing him to sit back up again. "You mean that-"

An evil smirk passed across Snively's face. "Indeed," he said. "They have found the second Chaos Emerald."

Robotnik grinned, the devilish glint returning to his eye. "Excellent," he said. "The Death Egg may have failed, but I'll get those Freedom Fighters next time for sure!" He let out a hearty evil laugh, as the escape pod continued on its way back towards his fortress.


End file.
